The invention relates to a drive assembly for a motor vehicle, particularly a passenger car of the sportscar type.
GB 2 270 661 A discloses a drive assembly which is installed in a so-called mid-engine vehicle, specifically between a forward and a rearward wheel axle but adjacent to the rearward wheel axle. In this case, the drive assembly is formed by an internal-combustion engine, a clutch and a transmission with a differential gear. The drive assembly thus permits a compact construction of a passenger car of the sportscar type, such as a two-seat passenger car.
EP 0 295 661 A2 discloses a carrying structure of a motor vehicle's body, which is attached to a rearward area of a central frame structure and accommodates a drive assembly consisting of the internal-combustion engine and the transmission. By means of forward and rearward bearings, the drive assembly is arranged on both sides of a longitudinal center plane of the motor vehicle, and the carrying structure is connected to the center plane. The bearings are provided at the ends of bearing arms which extend away from the drive assembly.
It is an object of the invention to arrange a drive assembly for a motor vehicle in a carrying structure of a vehicle body such that it contributes to a favorable weight distribution of the motor vehicle, and conditions are created in order to advantageously mount the bearings between the drive assembly and the carrying structure and further develop them.
The principal advantages of the invention are that the bearings and the bearing receiving devices, as well as their arrangement on the carrying structure, achieve excellent results with respect to both driving dynamics and vibrations. In this case, the bearings and the bearing receiving devices can be implemented with acceptable expenditures, specifically when the carrying structure is formed by an enveloping device which includes a glass-fiber-reinforced plastic material. In this case, the first bearing receiving device of the first bearing may be integrated in an upright closing wall of the enveloping device, and this bearing receiving device may be constructed as a local thickening in the closing wall. The first bearing has a functionally appropriate construction because it has a carrying arm fastened to a cylinder wall of the internal-combustion engine and a console carrier mounted on the closing wall. The supporting elements between the console carrier and the carrying arm ensure that, in the event of an accident-caused relative movement acting upon the drive assembly, a targeted support of the carrying arm takes place on the console carrier.
Finally, the second bearing and the third bearing cooperate with second and third bearing receiving devices which can easily be worked into the carrying structure, and the connection of the second and the third bearing with the cross member and its linking to the transmission are permitted by clear design-related devices.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.